A Ninja's Destiny
Written and Proofread by: Amethyst-Vixen91
A Naruto Fanfic
The Book of the Beginning
Chapter Two
I'm Back! Reunions of a Different Sort…
"Good idea! I've had an inkling for ramen for a while now…wonder how Teuchi will react to his favorite customer coming back to life…" Mitsukai said to herself before she went running off after Naruto with Kakashi and the others (who haven't left…Aikou) right behind her.
"A new journey is starting…who knows what will happen or who we'll meet, all I know is that this is a new chance for Konoha's number one knucklehead to show us all that he's got what it takes to become the next Hokage…"
With a boy who had miraculously come back from the dead after two years underground in the group, there was no question among them that the walk to the Ichigaki Ramen Shop would be interesting.
…However, the party misinterpreted interesting for awkward, for that is how the walk really went instead. Silence was among the streets of Konoha as people watched the boy with wide eyes. The group walked briskly to Teuchi's Ramen Shop. Naruto didn't even notice the stares of the villagers, having his eyes closed with glee the entire way there. On the other hand, Mitsukai and the others were quite on edge during the walk. What would normally seem to take mere minutes, seemed to take long, strenuous hours for them to reach their final destination.
"Oh man I wonder if the old man even remembers me! Hehe…I can't wait to I get eat ramen again! Heh…" Naruto said with excitement clear in his voice. Both Mitsukai and Suiren gave a small giggle at his enthusiasm. The others were still paying a close eye to the crowds before them.
"Well I don't know if he'll remember you, but I'm sure that when he realizes who you are he'll be surprised." Mistukai stated. Naruto looked back at her and gave her a cheeky grin; she smiled in response.
Suiren smiled at the two seeing the mother-to-son bonding. Her smile turned to a frown as she remembered when the third Hokage had shared the story with her and her sisters. They had arrived in Konohagakure only a few months after the whole ordeal. Shivers ran down her spine as she imagined what the people had to go through. Her thoughts were cut off when Naruto began shouting.
"Mmmmmmmm…heheheheHEHEHE! YEAH! Ramen here I come hehehe…" He said, jumping up and down as he did so. Suiren sweat-dropped at the boy's crazy behavior. If anything could get him riled up, it would be ramen. Her vision darkened when a sudden thought came to her head.
'…Or Sasuke…' She thought. The boy still hadn't returned, and was still at large and being searched for by ANBU. Aikou had said that they had been really close to finding him once, but he had thought two steps ahead of the group and was able to get away. Thinking of Sasuke, Suiren turned her head to Hana who was keeping her eyes on the crowd at the moment. Suiren looked back to the front to see Naruto a mere two feet away from the ramen shop. A nervous feeling came through her suddenly, and by the tensing of the air, it seemed to have hit the rest of the group as well.
"Hey old man I'm back!" Naruto exclaimed as he lifted the curtain to find his seat. Ayame was working at her father's shop still, only these days she had more work to do on the fact that her father was getting weak from his old age. She heard the ever so clear voice of the boy who had been pronounced dead years ago.
And dropped the cup of noodles she was holding.
She turned slowly to see the yellow-haired boy, her eyes wide with shock. The other customer had fled already, unable to handle seeing the boy alive and in the flesh. Ayame swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat as she set her eyes on Naruto.
"It's been…It's be-been two years…" She stammered. Naruto seemed oblivious by her expression and attitude. His eyes were closed and he was frowning with impatience.
"Umm yeah okay can you get my order please? I'm sure you still know what I like." He said with a smile. Ayame's mouth twitched, trying to find the strength to move her mouth in to a smile but found it useless. Her breathing grew ragged as she kept looking dead on into the boy's eyes. Naruto's face went back to its impatient stare, not phased at all by the girl's current state.
"Two years…t-two years ago! You were dead…I-I was there!" She said, her voice becoming broken with bewilderment. Naruto gave a questioning glance at the girl, his eyes closed and yet still showing a look of concern that only Naruto could pull off.
"Ehh…you okay Ayame? You don't look to good…" Naruto said. The rest of the group sighed and sweat-dropped at his obliviousness towards the situation. Ayame's eyes were still wide with shock, looking dead on into the eyes of the boy that once was pronounced dead. Mitsukai only hoped that the girl wouldn't faint; that could cause some problems. Who knows what Teuchi would do if he saw his daughter on the floor unconscious. Mitsukai didn't want to think about it.
"Ayame…" Mitsukai started saying, "Naruto has been brought back from the grave through some jutsu that no one has been able to identify. I-I know it seems a little out of the ordinary, but you have to believe what I'm saying." She finished. Ayame looked over to Mitsukai and nodded. Trying to grasp all the information she was just handed, she began to breathe again, finally noticing that she hadn't been before.
"…I see…" Ayame stated. Although it was hard to believe that Naruto had been resurrected and seemed normal enough. She knew that Mitsukai wouldn't lie about something like this. Heck, it was ludicrous to hear Mitsukai lie, something that could never happen. Even so, it would still take some time for her to finally accept the fact that one of her father's favorite customers was alive and kicking. Then as soon as she had thought it she froze.
Her father didn't know about this yet. Oh. Shit.
"M-m-my father…" She let out, her voice barely a whisper. Mitsukai's expression turned serious as she looked to the girl who had spoken. This could go wrong if it was handled incorrectly. She took a moment to gaze at Naruto who was staring at Ayame with an impatient stare. Mitsukai sweat-dropped and pinched the bridge of her nose.
'With Naruto being the way he is, it's going to be handled wrong all right. The boy won't be able to hold onto his already faltering patience for long…' Mitsukai thought to herself. She looked back over to Ayame who was smiling sheepishly at Naruto, trying to find words to say to the boy. Teuchi would bustle out from the back soon to see what was keeping his daughter from doing her job. The group waited for the moment Teuchi would walk out from the back and spot the boy that was the cause of this hold up.
"Ayame, you should get Naruto's usual order ready. You shouldn't keep your father waiting." Ayame looked to the person who had just spoken. Hatake Kakashi. Mitsukai looked at him with surprise in her eyes.
'Now he decides to speak up?' She got a little irritated at him. He always did that, but it was usually for the best. Usually.
"R-right…the usual Naruto…?" Ayame shyly asked. Naruto just grinned and nodded, she in return gave a sheepish smile and went back. Mitsukai smiled slightly, maybe things won't go so bad.
"Ayame! There you are, I was just about to go out there and see what the heck you were doing." Teuchi could be heard from the front of the store. Naruto made a 'What-the-Hell?' face while the others sweat-dropped at his obnoxiously loud voice.
"…Someone out there I should see hmm? Is it some new boyfriend of yours?" Teuchi asked from the back. Ayame couldn't be heard from where the group was, but Teuchi sure could.
"No! Y-you'll just have to see for yourself!" Ayame quickly stated. The group tensed as the door reopened and Ayame came out from the back with a ramen dish in tow, Teuchi right behind her. Ayame looked flushed and had a huffed expression on her face, of course why wouldn't she? She put Naruto's ramen dish in front of him and handed him his chopsticks. Naruto giggled like giddy school boy looking down a girl's skirt and began wolfing down his food. Mitsukai gave a small smile, but kept a close watch on Teuchi. He hadn't noticed the boy yet, and the group was getting anxious. Ayame kept a hidden eye on her father, just in case he fainted.
"Hey old man! Your ramen is still as good as ever hehehe…" Naruto said. Teuchi's eyes opened wide as he turned sharply to see the boy who had spoken to him. He froze, the boy that was once one of his best customers, that was once pronounced dead, was here in his shop eating the ramen that he had made. Unbelievable.
"Naruto…" Teuchi said in a voice that sounded anything but ecstatic. Ayame's face turned into a grimace at what would happen next. The group beside Naruto did the same, expecting nothing good to come out of this. Mitsukai sighed, silently disappointed at Teuchi's reaction. She had hoped it wouldn't be so grim, but with the way things looked, that's exactly how it was.
"Old man? You okay old man?...Why do you keep staring at me like that?" Naruto asked, his ramen bowl empty in front of him.
"Naruto…" Teuchi started to say, "…Your respect for your elders in still atrocious! Don't call me an old man!" Teuchi stated, laughing after he spoke. Naruto grinned and held out his bowl, wanting more ramen.
Mitsukai, Ayame, Kakashi and the others all face-faulted at the sight before them.
"F-father!? You aren't shocked to see N-Naruto alive! Naruto is alive!" She yelled at him. She didn't think her father had realized what he had just said. It was like Naruto had never died to him!
"Oh Ayame, I always had this feeling Naruto couldn't leave the village! I knew he'd come back eventually, him and his bad manners! Naruto, if you want more ramen, ask for it! I'm not your mother here!" Teuchi scolded. Naruto grunted in annoyance and pouted.
"Old man, can I please have some more ramen?" Naruto asked in a sarcastic tone. Teuchi glared at the boy, causing Naruto to flinch in fear, but smiled and took the bowl from the boy.
"Of course Naruto, see it isn't that hard is it?" He asked. Naruto smiled and shook his head. The group had slowly recovered from their face plant into the ground and stared at the two, their faces' expression was a mix of shock and relief.
"T-Teuchi, I'm, well, surprised by your reaction; I had thought from your expression, you would've handled it much worse than that." Mitsukai said. Suiren and Hana nodded in agreement. Sakura was still staring, and Kakashi was now reading the latest Icha Icha Paradise novel, feeling that the worst had already went.
"Mitsukai, you underestimate me!" Teuchi said, "Even though it is shocking to see Naruto alive, I knew in my heart that he couldn't be gone forever. He had too much of a strong heart and will to just die." Teuchi said. Mitsukai nodded her head, understanding his reasoning now. "…While we're on the subject, how did he come back?" Teuchi asked. Mitsukai was about to speak, but was interrupted by Kakashi.
"We aren't exactly sure how he came back; all we can guess now is that it was done using a jutsu either very rare or unknown to the public. A few ANBU members said that they could detect a faint aura around his grave site." Kakashi said. Teuchi nodded in understanding, and returned to the back of the shop to re-fill Naruto's order as well as make new orders for people who had been waiting. The air around the shop seemed to calm after all the commotion was over.
"Well I ought to help my father in the back; I'll see you guys around! Bye Naruto!" Ayame said, waving her hand at the group. They said their goodbyes in return and waved back. It was getting late out, and it had been a tiring day.
"Naruto hurry up and finish your ramen. It's getting dark out." Sakura said. He looked at her and then at the sky. I indeed had gotten dark out; stars could be seen high up in the sky. Mitsukai, Hana, and Suiren all turned away from the group, ready to head out to their home. Kakashi and Sakura were still waiting on Naruto, they weren't about to let him go out on the street by himself.
"Bye Kakashi! Bye Sakura! Bye Naruto!" The three girls said at the same time. The other three returned their goodbyes and kept waiting for Naruto, only now they seated themselves next to him. The three girls headed towards their home, ready to eat a decent meal and get a good night's sleep.
"Well that didn't go as bad as I thought." Mitsukai said. Smiling as the rounded a corner and onto the street of their house.
"Yeah, but how's the rest of Konoha gonna react?" Hana asked. She had a point. Just because Teuchi had handled his return so well, didn't mean the others would.
"We'll see the outcome of that tomorrow, but right now, let's worry about what were going to have for dinner." Suiren said lightly. The other two girls nodded and went inside of their home to see Aikou already there, sleeping on the couch.
END! Who-Hoo I finally finished the second chapter! YAY ME! I'm going to start working on chapter three right away!
